Thursday, February 14, 2013

Olama Mashayekh protests in Dhaka on 13.02.13

A protest procession was scheduled to be held under the leadership of Olama Ekram Pir Mashayekh Janata Mancha at Dhaka on Tueday at Motijheel area at around 10:00 am, to demand for the unconditional release of Islamic leaders detained in the name of war crimes trials, especially Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

Both Amar Desh and Naya Diganta reports have claimed that there was heavy police presence in the capital and that they aggressively dispersed protesters, not allowing them to demonstrate any where.

Daily Star reports that a clash erupted around 6:30am when several thousands leaders and
activities of Jamaat-Shibir and Olama Mashayekh Parishad under the
banner of 'Olama Ekram Pir Mashayekh Janata Mancha' tried to hold an
unscheduled rally at Paltan Maidan to counter the Shahbagh rally, said
Anwar Hossain, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP
Motijheel division) quoting the detainees.Being dispersed by the law enforcers, the angry demonstrators pelted
brick chips on police, forcing the law enforcers to retaliate with
rubber bullets and teargas canisters.

Naya Diganta has reported on the arrested number saying "রাজধানীতে গত দুই দিন জামায়াত-শিবিরের সাথে পুলিশের সংঘর্ষ, ভাঙচুর ও
অগ্নিসংযোগের ঘটনায় পৃথক সাতটি মামলা হয়েছে। আরো কয়েকটি মামলার
প্রস্তুতি চলছে বলে জানা গেছে। গত দুই দিনে পাঁচ শতাধিক নেতাকর্মীকে
গ্রেফতার করেছে পুলিশ। গতকালই গ্রেফতার করা হয়েছে ৩০০ জনকে।/ 7 cases have been filed against the 500 arrested in the last two days, of which 300 were arrested yesterday alone". Naya Diganta has said that most of the arrested are from the general public.

Daily Star reports that at least 20 people, including an additional deputy commissioner of Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (Motijheel division), were injured in the clashes
that continued for nearly five hours from 6:30am in the capital. Protesters have been reported to have set fire to a bus and vandalised several more at Fakirapool in the
capital. In Chittagong, they vandalised eight buses and minibuses. Police fired more than 800 rubber bullets and blank shots to disperse the protesters. It further reports that the law enforcers detained 415 people in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rangpur in connection with the vandalism and attacks on police.

A young ruling party activist grabs the beard of an alleged Islamist protester as he helps police in the hunt for protesters as reporters and journalists look on bewildered at the aggressive stance of police